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Binding

Side stitched, with wrap around cover. 4 staples.

Typography

All from Lost Type:RibbonOn RampMuncieMenschMinistry AirshipDeming

Ribbon, designed by Dan Gneiding, is a lovely and cautiously ornate typeface sold by Lost Type under their “pay what you want” model. Except that if you pay $30 or more you get one of the most fun and nicely crafted type specimens I have seen in a while. Printed in two vibrant colors, Dan and his guest designers bring to life Ribbon in a way that makes you pay not just what you want but what Dan deserves.

There were a few cost saving devices which, when used in a unique way, ended up adding character and value to the book, not taking away.

Most notably is probably the binding. Side stitching with staples can end up looking like a last minute business meeting had out. Elongating the ‘spine’ and having a die-cut window wrap around the edge turned what could have looked like cheap binding into a more considered, deliberate solution. It also allowed for an orange bleed to be printed on each page hidden in the spine which creates the illusion of edging in the die-cut window.

The cover was left unprinted and hand embossed after the books were printed and bound. We used an custom plate in an extra long reach desk top embosser.